If this is your first visit, be sure to
check out the FAQ by clicking the
link above. You may have to register
before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages,
select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.

Re: Buying a D32XD...

Good points Zed but I have to say in my experience when I compared the Akai DPS24 to the Korg D32XD I found that the Akai had a warmer, more 3 dimensional quality sound to it. The D32XD did sound good but straight on with just comparing the 2 side by side with their stock pres I felt the Akai was definitely a grade above. Like you said these sort of things are subjective but I try to be as honest as I can be with my comparisons. One thing is for sure though. No stand alone offers the features that the Akai does straight out of the box. Before I went PC DAW the Akai IMO was untouchable when considering everything needed to record and mix within the box. The VS series recorders, specifically my Roland VS1680 sounded very good as well accept for what I came to describe as a "slight hazing" effect over the recorded material. That was more than likely due to Rolands data compression codecs. I think where Roland has it over on most stand alone recorders is in the FX department. There are some very nice sounding reverbs in my VS1680. Bottom line is most of the recorders today are capable of producing professional results in the right hands/environment and certainly a lot more than what the Beatles had back in the day. Imagine what it would've been like if The Akai, Korg, Tascam, Yamaha, etc... were available when George Martin was working his magic? Now that's a thought...

Re: Buying a D32XD...

Originally Posted by Zed

...
I think people are too easily brainwashed by name brands. They would be well served to find out which items truly are right for them by actually testing them out thoroughly before purchasing if they have the opportunity. Otherwise they should research all the different forums available in order to get a clearer picture of the particular piece of equipment that they'd like to buy.

When it came to buying an all-in-one multitracker, I wanted to make my first buy the final one. So I did exactly what you posted. That I ended up with a Korg D32XD was due to the test results, and considering all the properties provided by it and its competition. I was a bit surprised myself. It was my first buy of that brand. My instruments, mics, amps, FX, and speakers as guitarist and vocalist are of fourteen different brands from all around the earth, but there had been not a single piece of Korg equipment in 26 years. Interestingly, seven years later my four all-in-ones still are my only Korg gear. My outboards are of another six brands, and I don't want to talk about cables and stands here.

Since this thread only goes around buying a D32XD, I felt appealed to recommend the buying of such one in proper condition because of my own experiences. If someone asked me about buying of Yamaha AWs or Akai DPS, I would recommend that, too, but I would have to concede that I don't have experiences with them except checking them out. And, of course, I would mention the restricted number of tracks in linear recording operation if it went about a Roland VS.

It is just the same as with cars, TV sets, washing machines, or refrigerators: Regarding different items, user's profile of demands, and the estimated budget, there is no such thing as the definite all-in-one multitracker for everyone and every given environment.

And as of mine, I added three D3200 later due to a change of personal demands which called for expansion in recorded tracks at once...

Originally Posted by geo524

... Bottom line is most of the recorders today are capable of producing professional results in the right hands/environment and certainly a lot more than what the Beatles had back in the day. Imagine what it would've been like if The Akai, Korg, Tascam, Yamaha, etc... were available when George Martin was working his magic? Now that's a thought...

It is awesome which great machines we find today at affordable prices. Think of a competition about generation loss with even a very costly and most accurately adjusted analog tape recorder. It wouldn't have the slightest chance against any good digital all-in-one multitracker.

Last edited by capmaster; April 12th, 2012 at 11:30 AM.

DVCVNT VOLENTEM FATA NOLENTEM TRAHVNT
(The Fates lead the willing and drag those who are unwilling.)
Lucius Annaeus Seneca

Re: Buying a D32XD...

Absolutely Capmaster. Take for one example the Tascam 2488 Neo. 24 tracks for $500+... How can anyone argue with that?

Digital today IMO can be as warm as analog. Technology has come a long way since it became affordable to the home market. Funny how people always cried for that analog warmth but still wanted that clean, crystal clear digital sound. It is possible to have both these days. Years ago I bought a Panasonic SV3700 DAT machine. The sound was as cold as ice to me. The last DAT recorder I bought (and still have) was the Tascam DA30. It was a much warmer sounding machine.

Speaking of tape and analog I remember my Tascam MS-16. It was a beautiful 16 track recorder, 1 inch tape. I used Ampex 456 faithfully until companies like Ampex, Scotch, etc... put out tape that was trying to compete with digital. It was short lived and the tape was very expensive. I also had to have a tech come in and tune my machine heads for that brand of tape. Problem was it got expensive and the upkeep (preventative maintenance) was on going with it. Head alignments, degaussing, cleaning the tape path, etc... Then of course there was the splicing of tape to make edits with. What a drag. There's nothing like the digital recorders we have today.

Re: Buying a D32XD...

Dear Geo524,

since I was in doubt about my own comparison results seven years ago, I was just taking a look to the Akai DPS24, and the Yamaha AW2400 specifications. Now I can suppose why the tests on generation loss turned out as they did that time. Better late than never...

The DPS' ADCs sample via 24bit, 128-times oversampling dual bit delta/sigma modulation whereas the DACs reconstruct via a 24bit, 8-times oversampling segment delta/sigma modulation. The slightly inferior performance of the latter produces tiny and very subtle deviations in the analog output waveform. This may cause e. g. some warmth and spatiality. However, it does of course NOT affect the DIGITAL output signals, regardless if you use a realtime digital audio output, or export them via CD or computer.

The Korg XDs' ADCs use 24bit 128-times oversampling dual bit delta/sigma modulation, too, but the DACs work at 24bit, 64-times oversampling dual bit delta/sigma modulation. This leads to less distortions since there is no segmential comparison and approximation required as with the DPS24's DACs. The sacrifice of two times oversampling during playback is very common since more critical aliasing could happen during A/D conversion, and so the 128-times performance is preferred here in lower budget engines, too.

Remarkably, the Yamaha AW2400 uses 128-times also during playback. Its higher generation loss via analog compared to the D16XD demo unit maybe was due to a less even analog frequency range.

The state-of-the-art top performance I think is 256-times since more than a decade, but because source noise is far below 24bit performance the advantage is very hard to hear out by listening tests.

So again I have learned something, but am still curious as there is SO MUCH MORE USEFUL to know...

capmaster

Last edited by capmaster; April 13th, 2012 at 10:03 AM.

DVCVNT VOLENTEM FATA NOLENTEM TRAHVNT
(The Fates lead the willing and drag those who are unwilling.)
Lucius Annaeus Seneca

Re: Buying a D32XD...

Good research Cap. Although most of it is Greek to me that's more than likely the reason the Akai had a more analog sound to me when I A/B'd the two. I think the higher the oversampling rate the more digital (or cold) the sound becomes but aside from all that there are other variables that come into play. Pres, mics, room, instrument, etc... The same tests using the Akai/Korg with the same mics/equipment in a different environment would probably yield different results all together. I don't know but I do know that for my comparisons I liked the sound of the Akai better but again it really is subjective.

The other main selling point about the Akai for me was I wanted 24 bit recording on all 24 tracks without the track count being halved due to bit depth. The only time the Akai would halve the track count was if I chose 88.2/96kHz as the sample rate which I never did accept to amuse myself with more comparisons. I like to entertain myself...

Re: Buying a D32XD...

Originally Posted by geo524

... The other main selling point about the Akai for me was I wanted 24 bit recording on all 24 tracks without the track count being halved due to bit depth. The only time the Akai would halve the track count was if I chose 88.2/96kHz as the sample rate which I never did accept to amuse myself with more comparisons. I like to entertain myself...

Happy recording to you...

Of course, that is a very important point. In this respect, the Akai DPS24 is the biggest all-in-one ever made as far as I know. The Tascam 2488 provides up to 24 tracks playback at 24/44.1k, too, but only up to 8 tracks recording at once, compared to the 12 of the DPS24.

Thank you for wishing me happy recording. I will be doing this again in about two hours, 24 tracks at once, using a pair of Korg D3200s.

With best regards,
capmaster

Last edited by capmaster; April 13th, 2012 at 11:27 AM.

DVCVNT VOLENTEM FATA NOLENTEM TRAHVNT
(The Fates lead the willing and drag those who are unwilling.)
Lucius Annaeus Seneca

Re: Buying a D32XD...

Buying checks :

Just go through all the button functions make sure they all work ok .
Check the cd drive playback and write modes (that could take some time).
Run a disk utility check for hard drive bad sectors .
The most effective way to check the hard drive is to start filling it up obviously so no amount of shop floor scrutiny will find every possible fault .
The most obvious things to fail are the moving parts Hardrive cd drive , fan , faders , pots , etc which can be replaced .
Things like bad handling and instalment of boards will become apparent when using those add ons . If it has not got upgrades then less to go wrong but you still need to check all the input pre's & compressors etc . Theyre coming to the age now that they will have been opened up at some point to replace the clock battery so bare that in mind ,there maybe one or two screws missing ?!
Also another fault that ive heard of and had a fleeting encounter with is the back light on the touch screen can be temporary symptom sometimes ive heard it needs fixing .